Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Inspired by the first Tomb Raider game, originally released on PS one in 1996, Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a totally new 2007 adventure for Lara, faithfully preserving the elements which made the original Tomb Raider such a classic and helped it sell over 7 million copies worldwide.

Using an enhanced Tomb Raider: Legend game engine, the graphics, technology and physics bring Lara's first and most famous adventure right up to today's standards and offer a completely new gameplay experience.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary follows the adventures of Lara Croft after she is hired by a powerful syndicate to retrieve a mythical object called the Scion. After discovering that she has been used as a pawn in some larger scheme, Lara takes matters into her own hands deciding that she must uncover the mystery behind this ancient artefact.

Including classic environments from the original Tomb Raider as never experienced before, the latest technology allows you to manoeuvre Lara fluidly using her newest moves and gear, through all the breathtaking worlds from the original game: Peru, Greece, Egypt and more. The dynamic world allows multiple playthrough options and also opens up new places and ways to explore.

Use all of Lara's guile, athleticism and gadgets in her quest to conquer the unknown and uncover ancient artefacts.

Enter into strange, undiscovered lands and solve their deepest, darkest mysteries, open doors to new realms, uncover great rewards and unearth secrets to Lara's past.

Use all of Lara’s guile, athleticism and gadgets in her quest to conquer the unknown and uncover ancient artefacts.

Anniversary present

Lady Lara returns in a remake of her very first adventure.

Anniversaries can be hard to remember at the best of times. This is one anniversary you're not going to want to forget however, as Lara Croft turns ten, bringing a shiny new reworking of her original adventure with her.

Lara-mania

It's hard to overstate the importance of the original Tomb Raider. On its original release in 1996 the game was critically praised, topped the British charts three times and even earned Lara a cover shoot for The Face magazine. It also spawned a massively successful franchise now seven games strong, culminating in 2006's excellent Tomb Raider: Legend. But you never forget your first love, and it's with that in mind that Eidos and Crystal dynamics have created Tomb Raider Anniversary - a remake of Tomb Raider using the Tomb Raider: Legend engine.

This is no straight scene-for-scene remake, however. Those who've played the original will certainly feel right at home in the locations, but the puzzles, traps and enemies have all been brought bang up to date. The game follows the plot of the original which sees our curvaceous treasure hunter tasked with retrieving a three part Atlantean artefact known as the Scion. It's a quest that takes you across Peru, Greece, Egypt and the ancient lost city of Atlantis, fighting a whole host of bizarre creatures and deadly beasts along the way. You'll mostly be fighting animals, and the A.I. (artifical intelligence) for these creatures is extremely believable. Wolves hunt in packs, gorillas will fling themselves at you in displays of brute strength, while lions will circle you from afar, looking for the opportune moment to attack.

Home sweet home

In keeping with Tomb Raider: Legend, Tomb Raider Anniversary sees Lara's mansion extended into a level in its own right, with objects to collect, puzzles to solve and secrets to uncover. The visuals too, are just as good as Lara's previous outing, with dust motes filtering through shafts of light, crumbling ceilings and deep, dark bodies of water.

All of Lara's new moves from Tomb Raider: Legend return intact, meaning you now have the grappling hook to get to those hard to reach areas, as well as being able to regain your grip or balance with the Triangle button, perform handstands and swan dives, and swing dangerously from poles. Unlike the Tomb Raiders of previous years, where Lara was assisted in her historical heists by all manner of gadgets and tech teams, Tomb Raider Anniversary sees a return to the solo adventuring of the good old days. You really get a sense of isolation and discovery in the levels, and the lack of any other human contact gives you the feeling that this is virgin territory, undisturbed for thousands of years.

Anyone who's ever played a Tomb Raider game will be right at home with the gameplay. At heart a simple platform game, the settings and puzzles make it tremendously compelling, and you will occasionally find yourself laughing out loud at the ingenuity and audacity of some of the traps you'll encounter.

Combining the gorgeous visuals and fluid controls of Tomb Raider: Legend with the excellent story and locations of the original Tomb Raider has produced an absolutely top notch addition to the Tomb Raider canon. Whether you played the original the first time around or not, now is the perfect time to play one of Lara's most thrilling and involving adventures, and see just how little the lady Croft has aged in ten years.